Tag: Christian Living

Peeking through God’s glory and power is like looking through a telescope. We can see a glimpse, but not the whole picture. We can take a peek, but we can never comprehend Him in whole.

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Much like the rest of the world, I also was very eager to witness the historic super blue blood moon that happened January 31. I even brought with me two orders of Spam fries courtesy of BFF Diner’s Felipe’s Chicken Fillet to munch while waiting for the spectacular celestial show (unfortunately, it didn’t last that long. Mabilis lang naubos haha!). I wished I should have brought chips and drinks din, as I never thought it would take us until almost 11pm. Buti na lang we decided to take a dinner first before embarking to a long night of “tayuan and tingalaan”.

I was with Laarni and her two training mates, Facs and Mercs (yes that’s how they each other). Luckily, the moon and the skies did not disappoint us. The sky was very clear and I can’t remember any sight of clouds the whole duration. I am also fascinated how many people, mostly students, gathered in the grounds of PAGASA Astronomical Observatory in UP Diliman. May media presence pa! Nainggit pa nga ako sa mga may dalang panglatag sa damo, parang ang sarap maki-higa. Hahaha!

I tried to capture the moon with the puny phone camera, but what could I expect? It was like trying to eat a soup with a fork. Hindi kaya e. Mabuti na lang pwedeng maki-silip sa mga telescopes na naka-set up sa venue. At least may clearer view sa bloody red moon. Indeed, it was a sight to behold! Ni hindi ako nakaramdam ng pagkangalay sa for almost 2 hours! It was an amazing experience!

Wala e, eto lang talaga kaya ng phone camera ko. Haha!

While I am staring at the moon that time, I can’t help but be amazed how great and awesome the works of the Lord is. Imagine, with just a word, things such as the light, the heavens and the moon came to existence! With just a word, all things, seen and unseen, living and non-living, came into being. Kung may ipinamamalas pang nakakamangha yung buwan na madalas na nating nakikita, how much more yung mga bagay na hindi pa naaabot ng ating mga mata?

But their major difference is that, microscope magnifies things that are too small for us to see, the telescope magnifies things that are too far for us to appreciate.

When it comes to our problems, we end up getting afraid and lost and exhausted whenever we look at it as though it is too big for us to handle, as if it is larger than life. Yes, problems and difficulties may sometimes seem insurmountable and overwhelming. I’ve been through that. Yung tipong hindi ka na makaahon sa dami ng trabaho, sa bigat ng pasanin, sa hirap ng pagsubok. But like anything placed under a microscope, problems, when magnified become more scary and unsolvable.

Punta naman tayo sa telescope. Telescopes are used to have a sight of things that are too far for us to see, like the moon and the stars. Maliit man tignan ang buwan at ang mga bituin sa gabi, pero alam naman natin na hindi siya isang bagay na maaari mong sungkitin. The moon and the stars are enormous in size. Only distance makes them look small. We use telescopes to appreciate them in a distance. To see how do they look. Unfortunately, we can only do so much with our telescopes. Hindi lahat ay kayang ibigay at ipakita sa atin ng telescopic lens. We can only have a glimpse of their glory.

Peeking through God’s glory and power is like looking through a telescope. We can see a glimpse, but not the whole picture. We can take a peek, but we can never comprehend Him in whole. Kakapiraso, kakapinranggot lang ang kaya nating makita sa enormity ng glory ni Lord. And the best part? Everytime we try to have a glimpse of God, we get more and more amazed, na ayaw na nating tumigil! I remember parang ayaw ko nang umalis sa telescope that night sa UP Observatory, kung hindi lang sa mga nakapila sa likod ko haha! God’s majesty can never be captured even by the best and largest telescope the man has created. Imagine, hanggang ngayon dini-discover pa rin ang mga planets within and outside the solar system. Yet God has created the whole universe just with the power of His words!

May dalawang uri ng tao sa mundo base sa uri ng lens na madalas niyang tignan: ang microscopic or telescopic lens. People who view life through the microscope often look at problems too and ends up exhausted. Nauubusan ng lakas, napapagod kakahanap ng solusyon, nasasaid ang pananampalataya. Moreover, people who view life through the telescope often gets excited with the Lord and receives strength and encouragement from the enormity of God. The problem doesn’t go away instantly but he knows that God is bigger than any problem he may encounter.

Habang nasa UP Observatory ako, I felt reminded: “dear son, no matter how enormous your problems are, no matter how insurmountable your tasks may seem, always remember that I am bigger than any of your worries. I am greater than all of your concerns. If you need encouragement and reminder that I am just here beside you and you are not forgotten, just look at the sky. I am the One who created the sun, moon and the stars. I will carry you through.”

What if we begin to invest in the lives of ordinary folks within our reach?

They say that in terms of being best of friends, dogs are to men while diamonds are to ladies. Though I am not a lady, I wouldn’t mind owning a piece of diamond! Who wouldn’t want one? This piece of jewelry is definitely a fortune. No wonder, if you adorn a lady with such a precious stone, she ends up beaming with pride.

I was reading a leadership book and I stumbled upon an interesting illustration about diamonds. It says:

“In a best-case scenario, in the world’s most diamond-rich mining locations, about one hundred tons of dirt must be removed per carat of diamonds. In the average diamond mining locations, 1,000 tons of dirt yield one carat of diamonds. That’s a lot of dirt to remove in order to discover a small number of diamonds.” (Murrel and Murrel, 2017)

I realized that in one way or another, we are all polished diamonds in the making. While some have been found out, polished and are already flaunting their sparkling beauty, some of us still lie beneath the surface, waiting to be removed from the dirt. We all have potential, we all have a purpose. However, we have different seasons. Some are being fleshed out from the dirt, some are awaiting discovery.

It’s easy for us to look at people with “sparkling” personality as if they’re the only real deal. We look up to them. We try to pattern our lives with them. But if we look around us, we will discover that a lot of people are waiting for us to lift them out of the dirt and help them to find their “beauty” within themselves. We look at the old cab driver and see him just as he is – an old cab driver trying to make both ends meet. We pass by “mommy” usher in the church and see her as she is – simply a married woman who tries not to miss her Sunday routine in spite of her marital problems. We try to ignore and not give much of a concern to that unruly teenage neighbor because we think we have more things to attend to than spend time with a “delinquent” juvenile.

Only those with glittery lives catch our attention.

But what if we begin to invest in the lives of ordinary folks within our reach? What if, while waiting for our complete transformation to become flawless diamonds ourselves, we try to unearth some people from the dirt, help them clean them up and speed up their “makeover” process? The concept may seem odd and vague but I think you know what I mean – let us add value to people, help them in their respective journeys and believe in what they are capable to do. Let’s give them hope, encourage them, and share our lives to them. Let’s begin to look at them as who they really are – a diamond!

In order for a diamond to be a sparkling diamond, it must be unearthed first.

“But only if we get our hands dirty can we find a diamond in a pile of dirt. Are you ready to get your hands dirty? Are you willing to get dirty? ”

Unearthing is not easy. Unearthing means work. Unearthing looks messy and will get your hands dirty. But only if we get our hands dirty can we find a diamond in a pile of dirt. Are you ready to get your hands dirty? Are you willing to get dirty? If one can find a diamond in a pile of dirt, I bet he’ll say “it’s worth it!”

I am once a resident of the dirt, wallowing in the filthiness of circumstances and personal view of live. But some people helped me up and encouraged me to see life the way God sees it. I began to see that I am not a product of my circumstances but I am a child of God. I began to see the beauty of life. I began to discover that I am not worthless because I am treasured by the Lord. This is because some people saw past through the dirt in me and saw me as a diamond.

I know you have a story to share too! Now share your story to other and begin investing in a life today. Do a good deed, an act of kindness. Look at people pass through their façade. You’ll never know, you might be living under the same roof with a precious diamond.

He is a God that can enter the realm of our experiences – not just a God we can fathom with our intellect.

There is a world of difference between knowing about God and knowing God. We may know Him – His works in the past, in the present and what He will do in the future. We may know a lot of things about Him – His awesome qualities and stories about Him. We may know Him by name, but unfortunately we may not know who He really is.

The sermon today really hit the mark. I can no longer justify myself. I was rebuked to the core, challenged to take honest assessment of myself and moved to take my knowledge of God to the next level. He is more than what my mind can conceive, much more than what every good book can describe of Him, even more than doctrines can ever produce depicting Him. He is God – the only real God with whom no substitute can ever compare.

What makes this God so special is that He is a personal God. He is not a distant God who just looks towards us – His creation, and leaves us wondering what to do with life. Instead, He has given us His lavish grace and blessings for us to appreciate that He wants the best for us. Who would have thought that an omnipotent God who alone can create the universe with just a word from His mouth will care about us – creatures who are even incapable of reciprocating the kind of love He gives us. If there is one word I can describe God’s love towards us, I’d like to say that it’s a stubborn kind of love. And I am forever grateful to that.

It’s one thing to enjoy Him – His love, His grace, His forgiveness – all His many benefits; it’s another thing to really pursue Him. Now a convicting thought lingers on my mind: how am I really pursuing Him? Or am I, really?

Is it enough that I know about His love? Is it enough that I appreciate His wondrous works that benefits the helpless soul that I am? Is it enough that I just savor the beauty of His grace, enjoying the lavishness of His love incomprehensible? Pwede, pero depende.

It’s one thing to enjoy Him – His love, His grace, His forgiveness – all His many benefits; it’s another thing to really pursue Him. Now a convicting thought lingers on my mind: how am I really pursuing Him? Or am I, really? The mere thought makes me think how unfair I [we] really am [are] when it comes to relating to Him.

Being busy for the kingdom is not a thing to be confused with being intimate with the King. We can do all the crazy stuff out there to at least say we’re busy pursuing Him, but in the end, our soul’s connection to the Father determines the futility of our actions. In Him, there is fullness of joy, there is peace beyond understanding and love beyond any condition. No amount of activity can fake out what only God can produce in and through us.

Amidst all the ministerial busyness, is He really the One being sought after? Or are we just downsizing Him to an activity we can jot down on our planners? He is more than that. As Psalm 34:8 says, His goodness can both be tasted and seen.

He is a God that can enter the realm of our experiences – not just a God we can fathom with our intellect.

Whatever your situation, no matter how frustrating it is, we can always bring the matter to the Lord.

At one time or another, we have experienced a season of disappointments on God’s plans and directions in our life. There are moments when we pop the question, “where are You Lord, and why is this happening to me?” We doubt His instructions, and more so His instructions, or most of the time His silence – His seemingly lack of concern to the emotional turmoil we are dealing with.This has been the case with prophet Habakkuk. He lived during the final days before the nation of Judah was conquered by the Babylonians. He was burdened, and in his distress he called out to God in the most honest, truth-seeking prayer he can mutter.

As I read the book of Habakkuk, I was able to glean significant realizations on how do we relate to God during our times of distress and how can we be encouraged with the example set out by the prophet. But the most important thing to note is that Habakkuk is just like us, so natural on his emotions, but unlike most of us, he is exemplary on his faith.

Like Habakkuk, we can honestly cry out to the Lord

The prophet was brutally honest about his frustrations on what is happening around him. Injustice was rampant and he is sick with violence and plundering he witnesses from time to time. His frustrations were vent out to God: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?”

Is this scenario familiar? Daily we hear the news and cringe on humanity’s dying morality and justice. National issues frustrate us every single day.

Let’s make it more personal. We all have our share of frustrating situations, like being backstabbed by a close friend, or failure to settle a maturing debt. Or maybe, a loved one was rushed to the hospital, leaving us in a state of panic.

The problem is when people have questions, instead of looking up to God for answers, some prefer to form societies, and within these gripe groups they try to seek for answers.

Whatever your situation, no matter how frustrating it is, we can always bring the matter to the Lord. He doesn’t mind you asking Him questions, neither is He bothered when you blurt out your doubts. Habakkuk is a perfect example of a person who courageously uttered His frustrations to God. In the first place, He knows our hearts and all out thoughts, so why shy away in your prayers?

The problem is when people have questions, instead of looking up to God for answers, some prefer to form societies, and within these gripe groups they try to seek for answers. The good thing about Habakkuk’s prayer is not just his honesty, but to whom He expresses it. He knows that when it comes to the matters of the heart such as his frustrations, only the Lord has the answer.

Like Habakkuk, we must wait upon the Lord

Habakkuk received an answer from the Lord, but the answer is not what he has expected to hear from the God of justice. It was like he is expecting that good will triumph against evil, but what he received as a response was “something more evil will wipe out the evil” – a stark contrast from what he desires to happen, or at least expects to happen. He obviously cannot fathom God’s train of thought on that matter.

Habakkuk embraced God’s promises and sovereignty even in times of his confusion. He trusts God’s timing that someday, justice will be served and His questions and doubts will be given a crystal-clear answer.

Just like us. We pray for certain things to happen but God gives us a different response. Indeed, His ways are higher than ours. His timetable is different, His logic incomparable to us human beings. Hence, some ends up being bitter, forsaking their relationship with the Lord.

Yet when it comes to Habakkuk, the Lord’s incomprehensible response served not as a reason for him to desert God, but as a reason to cling to God more. In fact, his name Habakkuk came from the Hebrew verb “habaq” meaning embrace. Thus his name probably means “someone who embraces or clings”. Habakkuk embraced God’s promises and sovereignty even in times of his confusion. He trusts God’s timing that someday, justice will be served and His questions and doubts will be given a crystal-clear answer.

Like Habakkuk, we ought to put our joy in the Lord

Disappointment in life is often a ticket to sudden halt in our spiritual journey. When things don’t go well, when we can’t find any reason to rejoice because of what we see around us, it is easy to lose focus and energy, even lose joy in our Christian walk.

During the time of Habakkuk, it is hard to find encouragement when you know that imminent danger is coming your way. Yet Habakkuk chose to put his hope and joy in the Lord. Towards the end of his book, he has written an encouraging psalm that is for us to take hold of:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Habakkuk is saying, in our language, that “even when all things went wrong – even when the economy falls, when the prices of commodities soar high, when the elections turn out differently from what I am expecting, even when my health fails and people desert me – still I will trust in You Lord. You are the source of my Joy and my strength, and in You alone I place my trust”.

This doesn’t mean we will dismiss our questions. This doesn’t mean we will stop seeking answers. This only means that even when we don’t understand his plans, we will not pull out the plug of our relationship with Him.

There was an occasion na nadisappoint ako sa isang tao na sobrang tinitingala ko. Ganun pala yung feeling, pakiramdam mo nabasted ka or something. Pero I was consoled and reminded by my pastor that disappointments in ministry, and life in general, are inevitable – and always expect that there will be a lot to come!

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me , you who practice lawlessness.'” – Matthew 7:21-23

Higit na masakit ito kaysa mabasted ng tatlong beses isang linggo. Mas matindi pa ito sa pusong sinugatan at pinatakan ng kalamansi. Mas grabe sa pusong tinadtad na parang sisig. All along you are convinced that you are on your way to heaven only to be rejected and denied by the Lord himself on that most important day.

Salvation is free and for everybody. You do not have to be popular, rich, intelligent or influential to be entitled a free pass to heaven. But while salvation is free, it is not cheap. No, you cannot earn eternal life through good works – it is only by faith in Jesus and on what He’s done on the cross that you become part of God’s family.

Sabi ni Jesus, “Not everyone who says to me Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven” Hindi lahat ng nagsasabi na kilala niya ang Panginoon, na may relationship na sa Diyos ay tunay na makakarating sa langit, “but only those who does the will of my Father in heaven”. And what is the will of the Father?

The lordship of Jesus is more than just doing good works for Him, especially when it’s convenient, but consistently be in obedience to Him even when things get rough.

Whenever unfair situations in life brings us down, Jesus will lift us up.

It was a fine morning. I woke up early full of expectations that the day will be full of surprises. I went to school earlier than the usual. I did my assignment all by myself. For personal reasons, I deliberately entered the classroom late. everything was fine, until…
I entered the classroom and I saw some of my classmates checking their respective assignments (which was supposed to be done by their seatmates). But that’s not all! One of my classmates borrowed my treasured work and copied it, in a hurry, so as not to be noticed by our professor (Sigh! If she only knew how I value my work, but I guess she’s already insensitive to that, having done that for how many years I think). Adding to my frustration, while our professor is discussing the correct answers, some of my classmates are still doing their supposedly homework and takes no heed of the authority in front of them.

Life is so unfair, isn’t it? These unfair incidences in life makes me realize how the world has gone corrupt these days, and how far people have strayed away from God. However, as I’ve checked the Scriptures regarding life’s unfairness, here are the points God showed me:

1. God’s plan for life was marred by sin. Sin, the most detestable thing to God, spoiled everything in God’s wonderful plan. Supposedly, we are entitled for a life of abundance and consistent fellowship with the Creator, but sin ruined everything. Imagine the kind of life we’ll enjoy if all our needs are met because our Creator is just beside us (literally). But we cant blame them (Adam and Eve of course) for we ourselves are also sinners, and our sins are increments to the scars of God’s wonderful plan for our lives.

2. We are not of this world. Paul told about it, as well as the author of the book of Hebrews. Life here on earth is just temporary, and is fleeting. We are not really for ephemeral realm, but rather for an eternal dwelling place. Life here on earth is just a preparation on where we’ll spend our eternity. God allows frustrating things to happen to test us on how dependent are we to the One who has the power to save us from eternal damnation. Life here on earth is nothing as compared to the eternal life God has prepared for us.

Troubles may be too little or too big to handle, but rest assured, Jesus had overcame them, and we too will overcome!

3. Jesus Himself told about troubles and frustrations in this world. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world!” This is one of the most assuring verses in the Bible. It says that Jesus has acknowledged the life would not be complete if troubles will not take its place. These troubles may be too little or too big to handle, but rest assured, Jesus had overcame them, and we too will overcome!

4. Sometimes (or most of the time) we deliberately disobey God, thus making our lives miserable. Disobedience (and partial obedience) deserves punishment. God is just, and He will do whatever He has said. As His special creation, we are to reflect His holiness. “Be holy for I am holy”, says the Lord. And if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God — Hebrews 10:26-27

5. The whole world is under the control of the evil one. This is the truth that is really hard to accept. John has said it in 1 John 5:19. If Satan is already the one taking hold of the whole world, what should we expect? Shall we expect fairness? Shall we expect happiness? Shall we expect justice? Definitely no. So we should be doubly careful, for the end of all things is near. Let us be clear-minded and be more serious in our prayers — 1 Peter 4:7

However, Jesus left us with a hope. He is our refuge and our strength. Whenever unfair situations in life brings us down, Jesus will lift us up. Above all, He promised us that when He returns, all the miseries and frustrations we have due to unfairness of life will soon come to an end.

Note To Self

This is my virtual space for all my random musings on life, love, ministry and everything in between. Join me as I jot down notes as I explore and enjoy what God has offered me in my tiny corner in this world.